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Baby-Doll (episode)
"Baby Doll" is the fourth episode of the third season of . It originally aired on October 1, 1994. Plot The episode begins with a short display of Vallely Cinema’s grand title “Death Of A Salesman”, starring Brian Daly. Later on, the focus is directed towards a woman and two men exiting the cinema -the actors of the above mentioned movie, including Daly. Daly’s attention is drawn by a girl’s soft sobbing. Curious, the man follows the sound and finds a blonde little girl leaning against the wall and crying, face covered with her hands. Daly kneels to the girl’s level and questions her if she is lost. The girl moves away from him and claims that her brother has left her by herself,still shielding her face. Daly offers her a handkerchief. The girl takes it and thanks Daly, finally revealing her face to him. A shocked expression crosses his face, but before he can react, he is knocked out-cold by a silhouette from behind. This scene ends with a close-up at the little-girl’s feet carefully avoiding Daly’s fallen body while she apologizes for “playing rough”. The previous day’s events didn’t remain unnoticed as the following scene shows Batman and Robin browsing through photos of missing actors of “Love That Baby” in Commissioner Gordon’s office. This is when the identity of the mysterious blonde little girl is first revealed. Marie Lousie Dahl, protagonist of “Love That Baby”, the sitcom that made her famous 20 years ago with her playing the role of Baby-Doll. Both Batman and Robin seem to know of the show and of Dahl’s condition. Marie Louise Dahl was born with systemic hypoplasia, a rare disease that kept her from aging. A phone call stops the three from dwelling further on the topic as officer Bullock requests immediate backup for an attack at Vallely Cinema. Batman and Robin attempt to stop the attack, but find themselves outnumbered as the attackers manage to kidnap another former “Love That Baby” actor. Batman calls on his Batmobile through his belt but Baby throws herself in front of the car, forcing Batman to avoid her. The Batmobile crashes into a press store and people begin crowding the area as the attackers manage to escape in all the commotion. Robin holds a crying Dahl in his arms while the girl keeps asking for ‘her mommy’. A red-head woman emerges from the crowd and takes the girl into her arms, seemingly scolding her. Dahl replies with her trademark “I didn’t mean to” and Batman and Robin realize who she is. Baby-Doll is quick to react as she throws a smoke (basketball) bomb and disappears in the smoke along with her ‘mommy’. We later find out that four out of the total of five actors that formed the “Love That Baby” family were imprisoned on the set of the sitcom and forced by Dahl (and a few armed men) to play her birthday episode. Batman and Robin realize this as well, and form a plan to fool Baby when she will attempt an attack on the fifth and final actor, her ‘cousin’ Spunky. As expected, Baby-Doll captures ‘Spunky’ and decides to get revenge for him making the public forget her. A happy Dahl plants dynamite in ‘Spunky’’s cake and waits for her revenge to be complete. In the last second, a tied-up ‘Spunky’grabs the dynamite with his mouth and throws it away, saving himself and the other cast members from the explosion. Enraged, Baby-Doll points her doll, Mr. Happy-Head (a disguised machinegun), at ‘Spunky’ and threatens to kill him. Just then, Batman makes an entrance and disarms both Baby and her guards. Robin then unties himself and takes of his costume, thanking Batman and untying the actors. But the game isn’t over yet, as Baby-Doll’s ‘mommy’ attacks Batman and Robin, giving Baby the chance to run away. The duo is quick to dispose of the woman and Batman continues the pursuit for Dahl while Robin frees the actors and guides them to safety. The final confrontation is at “Funland” amusement park, in the Mirror House. Dahl is drawn by the reflection of her adult self in one of the mirrors. Angered by Batman for making her see reality, she begins shooting frantically at every mirror with his reflection and shedding tears while shooting her own reflection with her last remaining bullets. Batman closes in on a petrified Dahl and takes her doll away. The episode ends with a crying Dahl, clutching tightly at Batman’s leg as he places an understanding hand on her head at her words: “I didn’t mean to”. Background Information Trivia * Baby Doll's character is partly based on a similar character in the movie What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? *Doll is the only Batman villain (aside from Red Claw) made exclusively for the first run of the show who has not, to date, moved on to the comics. * The backstory of Doll's sitcom - the introduction of a cute kid cousin, "Cousin Spunky" who stole the audience's attention and caused Doll to quit in protest - is a parody of the TV phenomenon known as the "Cousin Oliver Syndrome." There have been several instances where a television show with falling ratings has attempted to boost its popularity by introducing a new "cute kid" character to appeal to younger viewers. The term "Cousin Oliver Syndrome" takes its name from Oliver Tyler, a new character introduced in a later season of The Brady Bunch, after the original "children" had all reached teen age. Unlike Cousin Spunky, Cousin Oliver was not a success, and so the term has come to refer to all such failed attempts. * It is also worth noting that Cousin Oliver was played by Robbie Rist, who plays one of the kidnapped actors in this episode (though not Cousin Spunky). *Baby Doll's henchmen bear a striking resemblance to Gilligan and the Skipper. *Jason Marsden voices his first role in the DCAU; he would later go on to voice numerous roles on , , and . Cast Quotes External Links *Episode Review on World's Finest: http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/WF/batman/btas/episodes/babydoll/ Category:BTAS episodes